The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1887-08-31
KILLED BY A SHELL.
A Bit of Vivid Word-Painting by the
Russian Novelist

A Bit of Vivid Word-Painting by the
Russian Novelist.
The following is from Sebastopol, by
Count Leo Tolstoi: We left Praskoukine
coming back with Mikhailof He reached
a less exposed place and began to breathe
again, when he perceived, on turning
around, the sudden light of flash. The
sentinel shouted "Mor-tar!' And one of
the soldiers who followed added, at is COM
ing straight into the bastion!n Mikhailoff
looked The luminous point of the bomb
she'll seemed to stop directly over his head,
exactly the moment when it was impossible
to tell what direction it was going to take
That was for the space of a second. Sud
denly, redoubling its speed, the projectile
came nearer and nearer. The sparks of the
fuse could be seen flying out, the dismal
Kissing was plainly audible II was going
to drop right in the midst of the battalion.
ITO earth!n shouted voice. Mikhailotf
and Praskoukine obeyed The latter, with
shut eyes, heard the shell fall somewhere on
the hard earth very near him. A second,
which appeared to him an hour, passed and
the shell did not burst Praskoukine was
frightened; then he asked himself what
cause he had for fear. Perhaps it had fallen
further away and he wrongly imagined that
he heard the fuse kissing near him. Opening
his eyes, he was satisfied to see Mikhailoff
stretched motionlesS at his feet; but at the
same time he perceived, a yard off, the light
ed fuse of the she'll spinning around like a
top glacial terror, which stit1ed every
thought every sentiment, took possession of
his soul He lid his face in his hands An
| other second passed, during which a whole
world of thoughts, of hopes, of sensations
and of souvenirs passed through his mind.
Whom will it kill! Me or Mikhailoff, or,
Indeed, both of us together? If it is |,
where will it hit me! If in the head, it will
be all over; if on the foot, they will cut it
off; then | shall insist that they give me
chloroform. And may get well. Perhaps
Mikhailoff alone will be killed, and later
will tell how we were close together, and
how was covered with his blood. No, no!
it is nearer nett will be II Then he re-
membered the twelve rubles he owed Mix
hailof, and another debt left at Petersburg,
which ought to have been paid long ago. A
Bohemian air that he sang the evening be-
| fore came to his mind. He also saw in his
| imagination the lady he was in love with in
| her lilac-trimmed bonnet; the man who had
| insulted him five years before and whom be
| had never taken vengeance on. But in the
midst of these and many other souvenirs
| the present feeling, the expectation OF death,
| did not leave him perhaps it is not going
| to explode" he thought, and was on the
| point of opening his eyes with desperate
DOluuesS. DuU dU UDlS 1ISudifU Teu lire
| struck his eyeballs through the closed lids
| and something hit him in the middle of the
chest with a terrible crash. He ran forward
at random, entangled his feet in his sword,
| stumbled and fell ON his side. ''God be
praised / am only bruisedn This was his
| first thought and he wanted to feel of his
breast but his hands seemed as if they were
tied. A wise gripped his head, soldiers ran
before his eyes and he mechanically counted
| them: Zone, two, three soldiers and, be-
| side, an officer who is losing his cloak" A
new light flashed; he wondered what had
| fired. Was it mortar or a.cannons Doubt
less a cannon Another shot, more soldiers,
| five, six, seven. They passed in front of
| him and suddenly he became terribly afraid
of being crushed by them He wanted to
| cry out, to say that he was bruised, but his
| lips were dry, his tongue was glued to the
| roof of his mouth. He had burning thirst.
| He felt that his breast was damp and the
sensation of this moisture made him think
of water. He would have liked to drink
| that which drenched him. Il must have
| knocked the skin off in falling" he said to
| himself, and more and more frightened at
| the idea of being crushed by the soldiers
who were running in the crowd before him.
| He tried again to cry out. Take mer'
| But instead of that he uttered a groan so
| terrible that he was frightened by it him
| self. Then red sparks danced before his
ewes: it seemed as if the soldiers were piling
stones upon him. The sparks danced more
rapidly; the stones piled on him stifed him
more and more. He stretched himself out,
he ceased to see, to hear, to think to feel
He had been killed instantly by piece of
shell striking him full in the breast.